1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to alignment devices and methods for aligning light sources to optical connectors.
2. Background Art
The process of efficiently coupling laser light into a common plastic, glass or other optical fiber is a difficult task due to the small size of the components involved. Both the active area of the laser diode and the core area of the fiber are typically measured in single or double digit microns. Alignment errors of only a few microns can result in unacceptable loss of optical power. Perhaps the most common means of coupling laser light into a fiber is to actually weld the fiber directly to the active area of the laser diode thereby creating a fiber optically pigtailed laser diode. This is a painstaking and expensive process that is usually not reversible so that if either component fails both components can be lost. As an alternative, specially designed optics and housings offer advantages in the laser to fiber coupling process but those systems currently available have distinct economic and utilitarian limitations. Most of these alternatives require the use of some sort of electronic optical meter to measure the amount of light passing into and then out of the fiber. When the operator has determined, via this “hunt and peck” method that a maximum reading has been achieved the light source, lens if any, and fiber are deemed “aligned”. A process, utilizing simple and inexpensive fixtures that incorporate several useful and intuitive features for the user and that do not require any special instrumentation would be of great benefit to manufacturers of fiber coupled laser diodes.